Door knob, lock and slide bolt protector



Dec. 3, 1968 A. A. BERNSTEIN DOOR KNOB, LOCK AND SLIDE BOLT PROTECTOR Filed July 12, 1965 FIGJ.

FIGS.

H. null \lllb 42 INVENTOR ALBER'I. BERNSTEIN AT IQRNE United States Patent 3,414,306 DOOR KNOB, LOCK AND SLIDE BOLT PROTECTOR Albert A. Bernstein, 49 Cranberry St., Brooklyn, N.Y. 11201 Filed July 12, 1965, Ser. No. 471,143 2 Claims. (Cl. 2921) This invention relates to a proective device and more particularly to door lock, knob, slide bolt and door chain protector.

Heretofore, it has been known that many burglaries have been committed because the normal locking devices used on doors, windows and hatches are easily accessible to intruders. That is, intruders may be able to break a window pane or panel in a door and reach through the opening and unlock the door by disengaging a slide bolt or chain lock or turning the door knob.

Many homes, especially the more modern homes, have front and rear doors which are partially glass paned. These doors offer the intruder or burglar an easy avenue of ingress because of the strong possibility of being able to reach in and unlock the door.

Attempts have been made to rectify this situation but none of the presently marketed protectors have completely filled the needs of the home-owner who is seeking protection against the intruder.

This same situation also applies to windows and hatches where breakage of one pane of glass will expose the latch to easy manipulation from without the house.

It is the general object of the present invention to avoid and overcome the foregoing and other difiiculties of and objections to prior art practices by the provision of a lock, knob, slide bolt and door chain protector which is both sturdy and economical.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a means for protecting locking arrangements for doors and windows so that the locking arrangements are not accessible from without.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a means for protecting locking arrangements for doors, windows, and hatches from intruders yet allowing ready access to the locking arrangements for persons within the home.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a means for protecting locking arrangements such that a burglar or intruder would not be able to reach the lock, door knob, slide bolt or door chain on a door or window by breaking a pane of glass or panel and reaching through the opening.

The aforesaid objects of the present invention, and other objects which will become apparent as the description proceeds, are achieved by providing a means for protecting a locking arrangement having a frame. The frame has a top member and two side members extending downwardly from the extremities of said top member. One of the side members is provided with an opening to allow the free movement of a slide bolt or door chain. A means is provided to connect the frame to a door, the frame being open in the front to allow easy access to the door knob, lock, slide bolt and door chain.

For a better understanding of the present invention reference should be had to the accompanying drawings, wherein like numerals of reference indicate similar parts throughout the several views and wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a front view of a door showing the application of the present invention,

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view of the frame means,

FIGURE 3 is a top view of the present invention, taken along the lines 3-3 of FIGURE 1,

FIGURE 4 is a front view of the frame wherein is shown an attachment to the frame, and

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FIGURE 5 is a front view of the frame wherein is shown a door chain and how it is protected.

Although the principles of the present invention are broadly applicable to the protection of locking arrangements, the present invention is particularly adapted for use in conjunction with protecting a lock, knob, slide bolt and chain lock of a door, and hence it has been so illustrated and will be so described.

With specific reference to the form of the present invention illustrated in the drawings, and referring particularly to FIGURE 1, a door is indicated generally by the reference numeral 10.

The door 10, is generally provided with a door knob 12 and a lock 14 which is used to lock the door closed, and in some cases a slide bolt 16 or chain lock 17. These members, the knob 12, lock 14, slide bolt 16 and chain lock 17, herein referred to as locking arrangements, may be well known to those skilled in the art and per se form no part of the present invention.

Many doors are however provided with an upper portion which consists of glass panes or thin wood panel 18 through which burglars and intruders may reach. By simply breaking the glass pane or panel 18 nearest the door knob 12 and reaching through from the outside of the door 10 the intruder may manipulate the door knob 12, lock 14 and slide bolt 16 to gain entrance.

In order to prevent the manipulation of the locking arrangement a frame 20 may be provided. The frame 20 may be made of metal, plastic or wood and may further have some form of ornamentation thereon which would be decorative and pleasing to the eye.

The frame 20 is provided with a to member 22 and two side walls 24 which extend downwardly from the outer edges 26 of the top member 22. In this manner the frame 20 partially encloses the door knob 12 and lock 14 yet allowing easy access to the door knob 12 from the inside of the door 10. The top member 22 and two side pieces 24 prevent anyone from reaching through a broken window glass pane or panel 18 and thereby manipulating the knob 12 and lock 14 from outside the door 10.

It may be recognized that very often a slide bolt 16 or door chain 17 may be utilized as a second locking means to prevent the opening of the door 10. The slide bolt 16 very often is disposed on the door in proximity with the door knob 12 and lock 14. In this case, the frame 20 may also protect the slide bolt 16 in the same manner in which the door knob 12 and lock 14 are protected. In order to allow the slide bolt 16 to move horizontally without obstruction, one of the side walls 24 may be provided with an opening 28 so that the bolt 19 may move freely to engage a latch or retainer 30 which would be mounted on the door buck 32 adjacent the door 10. However, the handle 34 of the slide bolt 16 would still be within the protective confines of the frame 20. As previously noted, the front of the frame 20 is open for free access to any of the protective locking means, however, the frame protects these locking means such as the door knob 12, lock 14, slide bolt 16 or chain lock 17 so that they cannot be reached from above.

This type of frame may also be utilized to protect a window latch (not shown) or hatch lock (not shown) from being manipulated by a person reaching through a broken window pane or panel 18.

In order to fasten the frame 20 to the door 10, a strap 36 may be provided across the back of frame in which holes 38 may be provided to accommodate screws (not shown) so that the strap 36 may be screwed into the door 10 thereby fixing the frame 10 in position.

As shown in FIGURE 3 the door knob 12, lock 14, slide bolt 16 and chain lock 17 will be eifectively housed within the frame 20 such that these locking means can- 3 not be reached from outside the door but at the same time allowing unlimited access from the inside of the house.

As shown in FIGURE 4 a front panel 40 may be either hingedly engaged over the open front end of the frame or slidingly engaged thereto. In this manner the access to the locking arrangement from the front of the frame may be inhibited if so desired. Of course when it is desired to reach the door knob 12, lock 14, slide bolt 16 or door chain 17 it would only be necessary to swing away or slide away the front panel 40 so that the locking arrangement may be reached. FIGURE 4 shows the front panel 40 to be hingedly connected to the top member 22 by means of a piano hinge 42 so that the panel must be swung upwardly to gain access to the locking arrangement. It may be seen, however, that the front panel 40 may slide vertically in tracks (not shown) on the side walls 24' and the panel 40 may further be provided with a stop (not shown) so that it will not fall to the floor when it is slid down to its lowest point to allow access to the locking arrangement.

FIGURE 4 shows the frame 20' having the front panel 40 hingedly supported from the top member 22. A conventional latch arrangement 42 may be provided to hold the front panel 40 in the closed position, however, the latch arrangement 42 may easily be opened and the front panel raised to allow ready access to the protected locking arrangements. It may be seen that the front panel 40 may be a rigid clear material and may be made ornamental as desired.

It will be recognized by those skilled in the art that the objects of the present invention have been achieved by providing a knob, lock, slide bolt and door chain protector which will prevent access by burglars or intruders who attempt to reach through a broken pane of glass or door panel to unlock a door.

While in accordance with the patent statutes a preferred and alternative embodiment of the present invention have been illustrated and described in detail, it is to be particularly understood that the invention is not limited thereto or thereby.

I claim:

1. Means for protecting a door knob, lock, slide bolt and chain lock on a door comprising; a frame; said frame being provided with a top member disposed above said door knob, lock, slide bolt and chain lock; two side walls extending downwardly from the side edges of said top member thereby enclosing said door knob, lock, slide bolt and chain lock so that they cannot be reached from outside the door; one of said side walls having an opening therein to accommodate the slide bolt or chain lock; and a strap connected across the back portion of the frame thereby providing a means for fastening said frame to the door; said door knob, lock, slide bolt and chain lock being easily accessible through the front of said frame.

2. Means for protecting a door knob, lock, slide bolt and chain lock on a door comprising; a frame; said frame having a back portion and a front portion; said frame being provided with a top member and two side walls extending downwardly from the side edge of said top member thereby enclosing said door knob, lock, slide bolt and chain lock so that they cannot be reached from outside the door; a front panel removably engageable to the front portion of said frame to cover said front portion and further prevent access to said door knob, lock, slide bolt and chain lock; one of said side walls having an opening therein to accommodate the slide bolt or chain lock; and a strap connected across the back portion of the frame thereby providing a means for fastening said frame to the door; said front panel being connected to said front portion of said frame so that the front panel may be opened to allow access to said door knob, lock, slide bolt and chain lock.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,134,924 11/1938 Laing. 2,748,753 7/1957 Wade -416 X 3,199,121 8/1965 Greto.

FOREIGN PATENTS 329,250 5/ 1930 Great Britain. 435,274 9/1935 Great Britain.

MARVIN A. CHAMPION, Primary Examiner.

JOHN A. MOSES, Assistant Examiner. 

1. MEANS FOR PROTECTING A DOOR KNOB, LOCK, SLIDE BOLT AND CHAIN LOCK ON A DOOR COMPRISING; A FRAME; SAID FRAME BEING PROVIDED WITH A TOP MEMBER DISPOSED ABOVE SAID DOOR KNOB, LOCK, SLIDE BOLD AND CHAIN LOCK; TWO SIDE WALLS EXTENDING DOWNWARDLY FROM THE SIDE EDGES OF SAID TOP MEMBER THEREBY ENCLOSING SAID DOOR KNOB, LOCK, SLIDE BOLT AND CHAIN LOCK SO THAT THEY CANNOT BE REACHED FROM OUT- 